“And all the men gathered around Jesus, and their faces shone with the desire to hear the words which would come from his lips.  And he lifted his face to the rising sun, and the radiance of its rays filled his eyes as he spoke: …”

“And the Communions are fourteen in number,
As the Angels of the Heavenly Father
Number seven,
And the Angels of the Earthly Mother
Number seven.
And just as the roots of the tree
Sink into the earth and are nourished,
And the branches of the tree
Raise their arms to heaven,
So is man like the trunk of the tree,
With his roots deep
In the breast of his Earthly Mother,
And his soul ascending
To the bright stars of his Heavenly Father.
And the roots of the tree

Are the Angels of the Earthly Mother,
And the branches of the tree
Are the angels of the Heavenly Father.
And this is the sacred Tree  of Life
Which stands in the Sea of Eternity.”

From ‘Communions’ in the Gospel of the Essenes, translated from the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely.

 Dead Sea Scrolls

These words are taken from some of the manuscripts of the Essene Brotherhood which were buried about 2,000 years ago in caves on the shores of the Dead Sea.  These manuscripts contain the original words of Jesus Christ, written down at the time, by people who heard them first hand – people like John, the Disciple.  The words are inspired, and inspiring.  The power, the majesty and the immediacy of the words are compelling.  The subject matter is mystical but not purely fanciful, as Jesus goes on to describe in detail the seven Angels of the Earthly Mother and the seven Angels of the Heavenly Father and how we should commune with them in the morning and the evening and the beneficial effects this will have. 

About ten percent of the texts of the Essenes are identical with texts in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, about twenty percent are similar and about seventy percent are completely different. 

The Essene Brotherhood lived during the last two or three centuries BC and the first century of the Christian era at the Dead Sea in Palestine.  They lived a communal way of life, away from cities and towns. They lived in tune with nature and were able to grow many types of fruits and vegetables in areas with comparatively little water, due to their intimate knowledge of crops, soils and climate. 

All people were equal in the Brotherhood and they had no servants or slaves.  They had their own economic system, based wholly on the Law (i.e. God’s Law).  They studied astronomy and were known to be great healers using plants and herbs.  They lived to 120 years or more and had enormous strength and endurance.  They led a simple life, working in the fields, and spending their free time in prayer, study and communion with the heavenly forces, devoting their whole lives to living in accordance with the Law.

Membership of the Brotherhood was difficult to attain and entailed one year’s probation, three years’ initiatory work, followed by seven more years before being admitted to the full inner teaching.

The Essenes were also prophets; Elijah, John the Baptist and John the Beloved were members of the Essene Brotherhood.  Jesus Christ himself also lived with the Essene Brotherhood for some time.

As they were being persecuted after the death of Christ, they buried all their manuscripts in caves near the Dead Sea.  Some of these manuscripts were not found until the late 1940s and early 1950s and are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Had the Essenes not been persecuted and killed, I think Christianity would have evolved in a very different way.

Kay Alford

(Photograph: faculty.etsu.edu)